Transnational ambivalence: incorporation after forced and compelled return to Mexico

ABSTRACT

Drawing on interview data with individuals who grew up in the US and returned to Mexico as young adults, this study examines how young returnees who were deported or compelled to leave the US navigate incorporation in Mexico. We find that labor market mobility does not automatically facilitate a sense of belonging. Participation in niche labor markets catering to native English speakers, however, facilitates social incorporation into communities of returnees. Our data suggest that social incorporation and evolving memories of the US powerfully influence returnees’ sense of belonging in Mexico. Even years after return, young return migrants’ incorporation journeys continue to be shaped by constant comparisons between the US and Mexico and a dual ambivalence toward both countries. Within transnational contexts of exclusion, young returnees’ rely on each other to create communities of belonging.

KEYWORDS:

• Assimilation
• 1.5-generation immigrants
• deportation
• immigrant incorporation
• Mexico
• return migration

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 The research was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and approved by the Purchase College – State University of New York Human Institutional Review Board #141559. Respondents were invited to view published and pre-published materials.

2 Although U.S. citizens faced many of the same challenges in Mexico as their peers who lacked U.S. citizenship, they maintained the ability to return to the U.S. to work and settle, thereby increasing their autonomy.

3 Hola<code> does not charge trainees at the time of enrollment but does require some repayment after graduates obtain jobs in the industry.

Additional information

Funding

This material is based upon work supported in part by the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program under grant number (DGE-1650116). Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.